Cyclic shoe conditioner



Dec. 16, 1969 SCHULTZ 3,

CYCLIC SHOE CONDITIONER Filed May 31, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Dec. 16, 1969 SCHULTZ 3,433,577

CYCLIC SHOE CONDITIONER Filed May 31, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 16, 1969 SCHULTZ 3,483,577

CYCLIC SHOE CONDITIONER Filed May 31, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,483,577 CYQLIC SHOE QONDlTlONER George Schultz, Newton, Mass, assignor to industrial Shoe Machinery Corp, Roxhury, Mass, :1 corporation of Massachusetts Filed May 31, 1968, Ser. No. 733,550 Int. Cl. A4311 11/00, 5/00 US. Cl. 12-1 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention comprises fixed outer walls enclosing a rotatable member having vertical walls defining a plurality of steaming compartments. Only one compartment is exposed for feeding or unloading at any time. Steam is fed either from a hollow central shaft or through orifices in a base plate. Each compartment has means for supporting a single shoe upper. An air cylinder and ratchet are used for advancing the compartments.

Background of invention This invention relates to the manufacturing of shoes. In particular, it relates to a method and apparatus for softening a shoe upper by application of steam.

In the manufacture of a shoe, there have traditionally been a sequence of separate operations such as toe lasting, heel seat lasting and the like wherein the upper material, typically leather, is to be smoothly formed in the desired location and shape. For proper manipulation of the material at these stages, it has been found necessary to soften the leather, at least temporarily. Steaming has been the most common method of selective softening. However, it is not possible to apply steam directly without controls to insure that the proper amount of steam is applied to the proper area for an appropriate amount of time and to avoid damage done by excessive heat or steaming.

Accordingly, specialized equipment has been developed for applying steam in particular shoe manufacturing operations. Thus, US. Patent 2,929,082 describes a steam box adapted to soften the leather at the toe section of a shoe prior to the toe lasting operation. This steam box permits controllable steaming of the toe leather but does not allow vapor to impinge on the vamp. A fixed level of water is maintained within the steam producing chamber and heating so arranged that the vapor goes directly from the steam producing chamber through slots to a chamber housing the toe end of a shoe. Although such a device is extremely useful for steaming the toe ends of shoes, it is not easily adapted or useful for softening an entire upper.

The softening of an entire upper or a substantial portion thereof has become of great importance with the advent of combination lasting, wherein multiple lasting operations are performed rather than a single operation. Although steaming boxes of various constructions have been used to soften an entire upper for combination lasting, all suffer from one or more deficiencies such as difficulty of control, staining, non-uniformity and overheating.

One object of the present invention is to provide a stearing apparatus to properly condition the entire shoe upper in a controllable manner either at the back part molding, assembly, at the pull over or combination pulling and toe lasting operations.

A further object of this invention is to provide such an apparatus which can be used with leather, fabric or plastic shoe upper materials.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide such an apparatus which can be used with a shoe mounted on a last or on a shoe upper alone.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the description and claims which follow, taken together with the appended drawings.

Summary of invention The invention comprises an assembly for controllable application of conditioning vapor, such as steam to individual shoe uppers housed in separate compartments. The assembly comprises structurally fixed outer walls which enclose a rotatable member having vertical walls defining a plurality of conditioning compartments. Each compartment is substantially completely enclosed except for a feed opening on its outer side. The outer enclosing walls have a single opening registerable with any selected feed opening so that all the other compartments remain completely enclosed. A supply of conditioning vapor such as steam is fed into the totally closed compartments either through orifices on a bottom plate connecting with the steam supply or from a hollow central shaft which connects with the steam supply and also supports the vertical compartment walls.

Each compartment preferably includes a means for supporting a single shoe upper. If the upper is lasted a bracket is provided which is supported by the adjacent walls forming the compartment and has a pin on which the last is mounted. With lasted shoes the steam is preferably admitted through orifices in the base plate communicating with the steam chamber. The steam can be regulated by regulating the heating element in the steam producing chamber. The output of steam is also regulated by the amount of water admitted into the steam chamber. A constant steam supply can be used. In this case, the operator causes the assembly to revolve after he inserts a shoe in an exposed compartment. Each loaded compartment is being constantly steamed in a confined area under controlled conditions for the desired amount of time.

An important feature of the invention is the provision of means for moving the compartments around so as to advance them one at a time. This is preferably accomplished by air cylinder means including a valve accessible to the operator and a ratchet mounted on top of the shaft of the central shaft which supports the rotatable compartment forming member. Each side of the rotatable compartment member preferably has rubber gaskets or the like on its edges to insure effective containment of the steam within a compartment. Also, a controlled heat booster such as a hot air blower can be added, if desired, to the last stage. Such a heat booster is helpful with shoes involving thermoplastic box toe or counter materials.

When an operator wishes to steam a shoe upper not mounted on a last, a perforated hollow mounting form is used which engages a conduit connected to the central shaft. The base plate in this case is preferably solid so that the steam enters solely from the central shaft through the conduit and out through the hollow mounting form.

The invention is applicable to uppers made of both leather and synthetic material such as plastics, fabric and porous synthetics. The apparatus of this invention will properly condition an entire shoe upper in a controllable manner and thus can be used in various lasting operations including combination lasting.

Brief description of drawings FIG. 1 is an oblique, upper perspective view of the assembly.

FIG. 2 is a front view with partial cutaway.

FIG. 3 is a plan view.

FIG. 4 is a plan view with the top plate and accessories removed.

FIG. is an enlarged partial plan view with the top plate and accessories removed of another embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 6 is an interior partial elevation of FIG. 5.

Specific example of invention Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated therein a frame or support 11. Mounted within the frame is a Water supply chamber 12 having a regulating fioat 52 and connected by a side pipe 12a to a steam chamber 13 having a drain 53. An electrical heating element 14 extends through the steam chamber 13 and is connected to a control 14a mounted on the outside of the frame 11. Across the top of the frame is a plate 15 which acts as a cover for the steam chamber and is provided with spaced series of orifices 15ag in eight spaced sections.

Mounted on plate 15 is a hollow central rotatable shaft 16 having top plug 16a and hollow section 16g, provided with eight vertical radial walls 1724 uniformly spaced so as to define in conjunction with top plate 27 eight compartments with rubber gaskets 17a, b24a, b. Between top plate 27 and bottom plate 15 is an outer curved vertical wall 29 which has a vertical opening exposing the width of one compartment which with the cut out portion 27a on the top plate provides a feed opening for the compartment which is in exposed condition.

In FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 the compartment in exposed position is that formed by adjacent vertical radial walls 17 and 18 and is provided with a bracket 26 having a last pin 26a for supporting a lasted shoe. All the other compartments have corresponding brackets 126-726 and pins 126a-726a. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the central shaft 16 supports conduit 60 terminating in a hollow perforated support 61 for an unlasted shoe upper. The perforations 62 are large and there are none in the base plate 15.

Mounted on top plate 27 is an air cylinder 30 provided with a piston rod 31. Piston rod 31 is connected at its end by pin 320 to arm 32a which connects to the center of ratchet 32 and to follower 3212 which is engagable with the teeth of the ratchet. The ratchet 32 is mounted on the plug 16a of central shaft 16. The action of the air cylinder is controlled by the operator from an accessible valve 33 whose air lines 34 and 34a connect to the cylinder 30. Depression of the valve causes a single stroke of the piston rod to advance the ratchet one-eighth of a turn and thus move one compartment out of feed position and move a second compartment into feed position. The seven steaming stages can be varied so as to give an increased amount of steam, as desired, at the next to last stage, 15g. A hot air blower 51 is provided to further soften the shoe at the final stage.

I claim:

1. An assembly for conditioning individual objects such as shoes, comprising: fixed outer wall elements enclosing a rotatable member; said rotatable member having a hollow central shaft and vertical walls defining a plurality of conditioning compartments; each said compartment being substantially completely enclosed by said outer wall elements except for a single compartment width opening to provide a feed opening to a selected compartment; said assembly being characterized in that when a selected compartment is in feed position the remaining compartments are completely enclosed; said assembly including means for supplying conditioning vapor to the interior of said shaft and from said shaft to said compartments which are completely enclosed.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein there are hollow means for supporting a shoe upper within a said compartment; said hollow means being connected to said hollow central shaft.

3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the bottom wall elements of said compartments in enclosed condition comprise a plate having orifices connected to a steam supply.

4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein said orifices are distributed so that the steam is supplied to a compartment in a plurality of positions of rotation of said rotatable member.

5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said rotatable member has radial vertical walls and is enclosed by top and bottom horizontal plates and said central shaft receives its vapor from a supply below the shaft.

6. The assembly of claim 1 which includes means accessible to the operator for rotating said rotatable memher so as to move one compartment out and another in to registration with one opening of the outer wall elements.

7. The assembly of claim 6 wherein fluid cylinder means are provided engaga'ble with a ratchet mounted on the top of said central shaft and including an accessible valve for operating said cylinder.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,024,480 3/1962 Baker et al 12l 3,286,288 11/1966 Coulson l2l 3,314,093 4/1967 Justice 1259.7 X

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 1259.7 

